Prior to the present invention, exit of roaches from interior spaces within a roach trap have been barred typically solely by reliance upon space between typically an overhanging port and point as spaced-above a surface with the capture space, with the space therebetween being too great for the roach to reach upwardly to gain exit through the entry port. Typical prior art is exemplified by patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,302 of Richard V. Carr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,828 of H. Hedley Hall, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,495 of Akira Nishimura et al.. Another type roach trap constituting a part of the prior art has been one in which a sticky adhesive substance was utilized along a surface in order to adhere to a roach attempting to pass thereover and thereby trap the roach by anchoring the roach when it touches the sticky surface. Such patent is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,874 of Yoshio Katsuda.
In roach traps of the designs of the types noted above, there are inherent disadvantages and difficulties which result from the very nature of the conduct of roaches. For example, in the traps such as of the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,908,302 and 4,208,828 and 4,044,495, it is possible for roaches to climb onto surfaces and along surfaces that are comparable to a wall of inwardly-slanted upright wall or even horizontal ceiling-like wall, allowing the roach to cling by its feet to such surfaces and to reach and exit through the entry ports of such patents. While not all roaches would normally escape, a significantly large number do escape these types of traps. The roach trap of U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,874 uses an adhesive material that is supposed to capture the roach when the roach purportedly walks thereacross to reach the food material. As a matter of fact, as a part of the present invention it has been discovered that the roaches will not cross or attempt to cross such stick material. Accordingly, while it is possible and probable that some roaches might venture sufficiently close and accidently upon a tacky surface as to become trapped thereon, such would be the exception rather than the rule.